InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wandering MInds ❯ Further down the road. ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

By:Demonchic-K

Thanx to my only reviewer. If you read this please review, I feel so unloved without reviewers. R&R!!

"Ugh," Kagome sluggishly opened her eyes to darkness. The first thing her eyes rested on was Inuyasha. A tall, thick, tree supported his back as he slept soundly a few feet away from Kagome.

The teen's head pounded furiously and her skin was too warm for comfort. As she pulled herself into a sitting position, with much difficulty, the hanyou's eyes opened. His amber gaze settled on her. She turned her head and saw him awake and staring at her.

"You shouldn't move. You'll hurt yourself more." The burns scarring her back had left deep cuts and welts. Moving would only deepen and stretch the cuts to infect or further injure her.

Looking around her, Kagome saw Sango lying on several blankets with Kirara curled at her feet and Hiraikotsu against a tree by her head. Miroku had his back to a tree mimicking Inuyasha's position, his staff over his lap. The last clearing's sleeping occupant was the kitsune, Shippou had curled up and cuddled into the bulk of Kagome's yellow backpack. She smiled at the boy and turned back to Inuyasha, who was now at her side. By their sides was a clay bowl cradling crystalline water and a white cloth.

Inuyasha twisted his hands together nervously. "I need to wash your wounds." At this he only wrung his hands more vigorously. Kagome nodded in understanding. But he continued, "You need to, um, take your shirt off…"

Now, if this were Miroku, we all know he would be lying on the ground almost permanently unconscious with a hand print etched/scarred into his face. But Inuyasha, though he didn't show it, Kagome thought he was very trustworthy (for the most part) and caring. She trusted him.

Even as she told herself this, her cheeks flushed and took on a pinkish tint. "Um…okay." Embarrassedly she fumbled with the hem of her shirt. Clumsily she tugged her uniform shirt over her head, a blush staining her cheeks the entire time. It made her wonder if it would be there forever, like a scar.

The couple were both surprised to see white bandages wound tightly around her torso. Both had different thought that explained their surprise, and different emotions. Kagome was relieved and pleased to keep her modesty. A small part of her mind was whispering that she was really disappointed. Inuyasha wasn't hearing this from a small voice in his head, the voice in his head was screaming with displeasure, although he was relieved because he wouldn't have known what to do.

`I guess Sango already bandaged her after the incident. But…' He smiled mentally at his musings. Sango had tended to her wounds early, and that was days ago.

"Kagome, I'm gonna have to change your bandages. There too old."

`Uh oh,' Kagome's heart rate increased rapidly to about 100 beats a minute (if u no what a metronome is, use it and set it at 100). Whatever the speed, it was too much and seemed to pump all the extra blood to her already crimson face.

"Um…okay." Thinking pretty damn fast for being so concentrated on her embarrassment, Kagome snatched up her shirt and clutched it tightly to her chest.

`At least I'll keep some modesty,' thought Kagome but her mind went completely blank when she felt Inuyasha's claws grazing down her back. A gentle breeze blew through the clearing and Kagome closed her eyes in a weird attempt to keep her warmth. The warmth seemed to flee her more as she felt the bandages poll onto the ground.

White-knuckled, she clutched the shirt frantically closer.

"You cold?" Inuyasha asked

"Huh?"

"You were shivering."

"Oh?" Goosebumps had infected her skin now that Inuyasha had stopped tending to her, she noticed the chill creeping into her bones. Also she noticed her had somehow completely bandaged her torso. Kagome tugged her shirt swiftly over her head.

"Thank you. Inuyasha." Her voice was extremely high-pitched now, which further flared her embarrassed state. The half inuyoukai shrugged it off and bounded over to his sleeping location.

After Inuyasha was settled back against the tree nearby, Kagome lay back and snuggled into her sleeping bag-that Inuyasha must have lain out. Several minutes of motionlessness she opened her eyes to freezing air that matched the feeling in her entire body.

With a heavy sigh she struggled to burrow deeper into her bag. The warmth she seeked seemed to be fleeing her.

Kagome growled in frustration and started to knock the crap out of the top of her "bed". The teen froze immediately realizing she had an audience.

Turning to meet his amused gaze, she blushed, growled in frustration, and embarrassment, and pulled herself deeper into her sleeping bag. She crawled into the warmth, zipping it around her like a cocoon against the amusement in Inuyasha's gaze and the chilling climate around her. Slowly, almost as if trying not too, she fell into the chasms of sleep.

~*~

Inuyasha mentally laughed at the fifteen-year-old. As she crawled deep into her sleeping thin `whatever the hell it was' he realized that he must have embarrassed her and smirked bemusedly. `Oh well.'

~*~

Her eyes fluttered open. "Huh?" She was moving. Jerking her head up she saw only a mass of silver flooding her vision.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered.

The silver in her eyes brushed aside and revealed Inuyasha's smiling face. Wait! Inuyasha was…smiling.

She noticed that he was smiling more like he had just heard a joke; unlike the only other-rare-times he smiled. Those had been arrogant and cocky. And his smile widened as Kagome scrubbed at her eyes with a fist to clear out the remains of sleep.

"Ya sleep good?" Laughter sounded as though it was trapped in the hanyou's voice. But he set it free with a deep chuckle.

"Yes." At this he started to laugh, actually laugh. "Why are you laughing?" The smiling boy just shook his head and dropped her to a standing position. Her arms still circled around his neck.

When she had completely separated from him, he turned and handed over her not-as-big-as-usual bag, a small grin still set on his face.

"Nani?!" Kagome was fed up.

"Nothing. You just slept late and I had to carry you." Though she noted the irritation in his vice, she also could tell that he was keeping something from her.

"Um…" Inuyasha and her were all alone on a dingy dirt path. The path led forward into the distance with trees lining both sides as far as she could see. "Where is everyone?"

"Sango was hired by a village for an extermination. Miroku took Shippou and they went with her for help. We're going to keep tracing that jewel shard rumor."

Kagome peered at his face. He seemed pretty happy, at least happier than Inuyasha usually was.

"So where are we headed?

~*~

"I don't know why I couldn't stay." Shippou was perched on Miroku's shoulder, an angry look plaguing his face.

"Because, Shippou, we all know that the two are in love and would rather-" Sango's hand clamped down hard on the houshi's mouth.

"Shippou," the Taijiya talked for Miroku. "A demon or human with the power of the Jewel is very powerful. You kind of distract them, and those two need all the concentration for fighting."

Miroku freed his mouth. "They'll be too busy fighting each other to fight the demon."

Shippou's frown deepened. "I'm not a distraction," he murmured low enough for only him to hear.

"I think we found the village." Everyone followed Sango's index finger and saw thick black smoke furling into the clear, cloudless, blue sky.

The trio immediately jumped onto a fully transformed Kirara. Within seconds they approached the source of smoke.

Wild roaming flames licked at village homes, stables, and gravesites. Screams and yells were randomly tossed into the summer's air.

Suddenly a roar erupted and a huge hill of dirt rose and broke around a dragon youkai. The red-scaled youkai darted through the village spewing fresh flames over the land.

As the inferno made for the group, Miroku opened the wind tunnel to the flames and Sango leaped into the air towards the dragon.

"Hiraikotsu!" The bone boomerang whirled at the demon's neck.

The dragon dodged it and bit down hard as Hiraikotsu made a comeback. The Taijiya looked on in horror as the weapon all but shattered under the intense fangs.

While the dragon was chewing at the bits of wood in his mouth, Sango took revenge by bonding gracefully up its neck. She drove her sword straight through as blood poured down her hands and the youkai's neck.

~*^*~

"Inuyasha," Kagome choked out. "May we…please…ta-take…a…break?"

The hanyou glanced back at the exhausted girl.

"Stupid ningen," he muttered.

"Sit," Kagome panted. Then she decided to leave the boy to sulk, but as she made her way around she tripped over his outstretched leg. Kagome shrieked as she tumbled on top of the cursing hanyou. She couldn't help but notice how soft his hair was under her head, which felt heavy from lack of rest.

Inuyasha growled softly. Upon looking he saw the girl sleeping on his back. He stopped, lifted her up, and headed toward the village nearby.

AN: sorry it took so long guys. I have problems focusing while I type so I stop every once in a while. Any way, I've already started writing the next chapter so all I gotta do is finish writing and then type. Oh and the next chapter is interesting.

REVIEW!! please